Personal Background Information: As representatives of the church both Patrice and Marlile participate in many social activities for the benefit of their community. Because of this they are looked at as leaders and foreword thinkers by the local populace. The church looks to participate in anything that will help their members prosper. Working at a church has encouraged both Patrice and Marlile to realize that business endeavors do not always need to be defined by profitability.

Reason for Using the Product: Patrice and Marlile both see the benefits of eating locally grown organic food but they are more intrigued by the possibilities of families cooking their own meals. Both coming from families that cook often they like how this product can encourage family togetherness while also creating savings and healthier generations to come. As representatives of the church they are both more then happy to welcome this company into their community and promote it however they can.

PATRICE & MARLILEChurch representatives

“People stay at the church long after the service is over”

Age: 42, 55Occupation: Part-time church employeesIncome Level: $30,000Cooking Education Level: Intermediate

Personal Background Information: As a construction worker Donovan spends many of his wasking hours working hard. When he gets home, many times he and his family are concerned with getting a quick meal versus cooking healthy food at home. The weekends are a rare chance for family time and bonding. Meals these days usually take place at local restaurants. After church on Sundays Donovan and his family are regulars at Carry Hillards.

Reason for Using the Product: The food prepared for Donovan and his family on Sundays is high in fat and sodium. It has become important for Donovan to realize that family time can be spend around the kitchen much the same way that it is spent at local restaurants. Donovan is intrigued by the way that prepared foods could aid him with his limited cooking knowledge.

DONOVANChurch Goer 1

“Every Sunday my wife and our 2 children go to Cary Hilliards for after church brunch.”

Age: 46Occupation: Construction ForemanIncome Level: $46,000Cooking Education Level: Amateur

Personal Background Information: As a retired grandmother Martha enjoys to spend her free time being active and cooking for her extended family. Martha’s house has become known as the place to be on a Sunday afternoon because of the good conversations and delicious food. Her friends and family enjoy aiding in the cooking that takes place at Martha’s house. Martha’s family bounds around the table and it has become a weekly tradition for them.

Reason for Using the Product: As an experienced cook Martha is most interested in the raw materials that are offered. She takes pride in preparing her family recipes and wants to pass them on for generations to come. She looks at this service as a way to bring the freshest ingredients possible to her table.

MARTHAChurch Goer 2

“I cook for our extended family a delicious Sunday meal. I would love to be able to have easier access to good ingredients that are convenient and affordable.”

Age: 68Occupation: Retired Gulfstream EmployeeIncome Level: $28,000Cooking Education Level: Expert

Personal Background Information: Natalie works at the Belk department at the Oglethorpe Mall full-time as a Sales Associate. Shes extremely friendly outgoing individual. She lives with her husband Greg in there modest downtown apartment. Shes commutes via the bus route to work each day. She enjoys going out on the town with her husband when they can, and often find themselves eating quick unhealthy fast food throughout the week. She is not much of a cook and the aspect of cooking a meal after a long day at work is not an appealing prospect.

Reason for Using the Product: Natalie would love to include more healthy eating option into her own and her husbands eating habits, but doesn’t know when she could find the time, energy, and resources to do so. She misses her families Sunday meals as a child, but unlike her grandmother she is not gifted in the art of the kitchen. She would welcome the idea of a meal she could just throw in the oven that was convenient to obtain, healthy and tastes good, and was affordable.

NATALIEChurch Goer 3

“I’m not a good cook, nor do wish to become one, all those organic ingredients would just rot in my refrigerator.”

Age: 28Occupation: Department Store AssociateIncome Level: $20,000Cooking Education Level: Average

Personal Background Information: As a person living by themselves, Rebecca eats most of her meals by herself. When cooking she finds that many of the foods offered at local grocery chains target families. As a daily rider of the Savannah bus system Rebecca is limited in the accessibility she has to fresh markets. Because of her single lifestyle Rebecca has a small disposable income to work with.

Reason for Using the Product: Rebecca would like to use for fresh locally grown products in her day to day cooking but she lacks access to these products. Rebecca does not mind using public transportation but realizes it’s limitations. When these products are brought into her neighborhood she is able to tailor her meals to cook just for one. The prepared meals are also a big selling point for her. She feels comfortable cooking, but more complex dishes may cause her problems. Meals that only require her to heat them up would give her access to a wider variety of meals at an affordable price.

REBECCASavannah Resident 1

“The local grocery chains only sell things for couples or families, it’s kind of hard to cook for one without getting a lot of left overs.”

Age: 36Occupation: Secretary for Accounting FirmIncome Level: $32,500Cooking Education Level: Intermediate

Personal Background Information: As a stay at home mother Sandra has to cook out of necessity. The families limited income has forced them to cook for almost every meal. Sandra takes pride in providing home cooked meals for her children and husband. She is known for her home made chicken and biscuits, which her children request quite often. Sandra is open to cooking healthier meals for her family but is unsure how to do this with her limited resources.

Reason for Using the Product: Sandra does not have the availability of using her families only car during the day because her husband uses it to get to work. This forces her to do shopping at nights or weekends after her husband gets home from work. She likes the idea of spending more time with her family at nights instead of making weekly grocery runs. Many of the dishes her family requests require raw materials, so the opportunity to make them with fresher, healthier produce, that is brought right to her neighborhood is a great option for her.

Savannah Resident 2

“My family enjoys my cooking and requests meals often. Those dishes require raw ingredients and a fresher option that is affordable would be amazing.”

Age: 41Occupation: Stay at Home MotherIncome Level: $39,000 (household)Cooking Education Level: Advanced

Personal Background Information: Both Benjamin and Tina work full time. Their only child Carlie is involved in many after school activities so it leaves them with limited time to cook and share meals as a family. Many of their meals take place at restaurants. Because of this both Benjamin and Tina have limited cooking skill. The family is interested in packing more lunches for both school and work. Doing this would allow the family to have a little extra savings to put towards a family vacation that they have been talking about.

Reason for Using the Product: With limited cooking knowledge the prepared food that is offered by delivery allows them to gain access to to more family home-cooked meals. They are interested in packing more lunches and the quick items such as apples and oranges provide a fresh option for a cheap price.

BENJAMIN & TINASavannah Resident 3

“We’ve been trying to pack more lunches as a way of saving money and eating healthier.”

Age: 28 & 31Occupation: Mechanic & Real Estate AgentIncome Level: $52,000 (household)Cooking Education Level: Beginners

Personal Background Information: Patty’s house is overcrowded. It is the current home of 3 generations of her family. Patty’s mother and father had to move in after being forced into early retirement with a very fixed income. Patty’s 2 children also live within the household. After being divorced several years ago Patty lives on an extremely hairline budget. Because of this Patty needs to cook all the meals that the family eats, it’s the only way that they can all afford to eat. Being the only person bringing in income leaves her with minimal time to prepare meals.

Reason for Using the Product: Patty does not have too much time to be cooking complex meals, though she thoroughly enjoys cooking for her family. If she had access to raw materials it would allow her to prepare meals ahead of time allowing her retired parents (who have limited mobility) to simply heat up the meals for the family that night. By doing this it would allow Patty to come home from work to spend more quality time with her family versus coming home to cook right away.

“I really like cooking for my family and enjoy the process of cooking. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment.”

PATTYSavannah Resident 4

Age: 47Occupation: Full Time Insurance Rep.Income Level: $31,000Cooking Education Level: Expert

PERSONAS

SWOT ANALYSIS

HOW CAN WE INCENTIVIZE LOCAL FOOD CONSUMPTION & PRODUCTION?

American eating habits are out of whack. With the growing availability of fast, convenient and unhealthy food the United States has become the nation with the highest obesity rates. Fast foods that are high in sodium and fats are cheap and easily obtainable. This cheap price tag has hit a special note in a slump-ing economy where savings and employment rates are both declining. Families in urban areas search for work while supporting large families. Their only options to keep food in their stomachs while on a hairline budget is to eat cheaply priced fast foods. Though these foods offer a cheap alternative to healthy or nourishing foods they cost more in the long run by increasing the amount of medication and physician visits later in life. As a result of healthier eating habits children are more energetic, they achieve better grades in school, value physical activities and have higher self esteem. This can become a trickle down effect from the parents to the children where the values of proper eating habits are instilled at an early age and passed down for generations to come, creating long term benefits. Many of the urban neighborhoods in the Savannah region are the areas with the highest crime, gang representation and related violence. Because of this abundance of crime many businesses have chosen to leave these areas in favor of higher social classes and increased profit margins. Though these areas prove to have low rent, the lower income rate has proven to make local business difficult to maintain. Food production has become globalized. When visiting a local Savannah grocery store their fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats and poultry are not locally produced or harvested. Not only does this system require the use of preservatives and harmful chemicals for these foods to survive their journey onto the shelf, but they also are pulling important money from the local economy. Savannah farmers are being beaten out by lower cost farmers in other regions, undercut by big business contracts effectively locking them out from providing locally grown and harvested food to residents. There is a need to incentivize healthier food consumption in urban Savannah. By encouraging local food production we would not only be creating a great economic opportunity for the city of Savannah but also would be able to provide a superior product to the end consumer. Many neighborhoods are unsafe to walk through during night hours and transportation to markets where fresh foods are sold is a large problem. By delivering food to local cultural hubs, our company will be able to get product into the hands of consumers in a safe manner.

PROJECT OVERVIEW & BACKGROUND:

For the time being this company is local and limited to Savannah, Georgia and the close surrounding areas. Our mission is to provide healthy, wholesome locally grown foods for those who have limited access to them, and also to make product more affordable for lower income families. We will also be targeting several cultural hubs including churches throughout different sections of Savannah. Currently there are about 130,000 people living in Savannah. Of that population 5 percent are under 5 years old, 25 percent are under 18 years old, 55 percent are under 65 years old, and 15 percent are over 65 years old. The city is made up of about 40 percent white persons, 57 percent black persons, 2

TARGET AUDIENCE:

The company will be involved in every step of the process from growing and harvesting raw product to the preparing of product and finally to the deliv-ery and consumption of that product. The portfolio of this company will be divers because of the vari-ous elements that will need to act in sync for the process to work. At the beginning of the process of the company we will be involved with farmers by employing entrepreneurs to raise, harvest and transport the raw product, a sort of pre-delivery system. A sepa-

COMPANY PORTFOLIO:

BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

Below is a list of current business objectives along with a design strategy and thoughts on how we plan on approaching each of these objectives.

1. To make locally grown food more accessible.Design strategy: Using several cultural hubs throughout the city of Savannah, beginning with churches, we can develop trust and reach areas of the city that don’t have easy access to most farmers markets. We developed a delivery system and traveling vehicle.

2. To make locally grown food more affordable.Innovations will need to be made as the business grows in order to drill down and make our products more affordable for lower class individuals. We will be exploring every stage of the products life for pricing innovation including growing or buying, shipping and sell-ing. Currently we are developing solutions involving employing and empowering our own farmers, sellers, and delivery system employees.

3. To create a for profit business model valuing social good over bottom line profit.We are proposing a different value system that will more often than not come at the expense of ideas that could make this business more profitable. We will be focusing on a triple bottom line including economic, ecological, and social motives.

4. To create a brand and identity for this company.We will be creating a brand philosophy and business model that will help drive the triple bottom line view of the company using SELCO as a reference point. The identity system and its collateral will sup-port our brand philosophy.

5. Obtain locally grown food from growers or create our own supply chain model.Finding local growers who could provide product, and developing a system of our own growers with the concept in mind that it could lead to pricing innovations. Also the company business model should be modular and facilitate replication in other locales.

6. Encourage local economic growth.Empowering individuals within the community with possibilities of growing, delivering, or selling product.

percent Hispanic or Latino persons, and 1 percent Asian persons. 76 percent of persons over the age of 25 are high school graduates. 20 percent of persons over the age of 25 have bachelors degrees or higher. The median household income in Savannah is $29,000 dollars a year. the median per capita income for Savannah is about $17,000 dollars a year. 21 percent of Savannah is below the poverty line.

Our company will exist on many platforms. Because of this it will have presence in many different indus-tries at once. One of our main focuses will fall into the industry of health, because it is our main goal to get healthy alternative foods into the hands of urban Savannah. Also with this mission there will be a certain level of education that will have to go along with this business. We will fall into the industry of education because of this. As part of that industry we do not look to pit ourselves against industry com-petitors, but rather team up with them for a common goal. These competitors could include local schools, NFP organizations as well as social groups like The Boys and Girl Scouts of America. We foresee that another element of our business will be in the food service industry. We will be ser-vicing the subcategory of restaurants because of the

CATEGORY REVIEW:

prepared meals quotient of the business. By serving locally grown and sold foods we will be in direct competition with many restaurants in the area such as Cha Bella and The Thrive Cafe. In addition to that there are many markets in the Savannah area that will develop as competition over the long term. Markets such as Polks Fresh Food Market and the Forsyth Park Market that happens throughout the warmer months. Food is also available through local grocery chains such as Kroger, Wal-Mart, Piggly Wiggly and Publix. These competitors do offer the same types of foods, but are rarely locally grown or harvested. By adding the element of delivery to our business we are making out product more obtainable. Within that industry there are many products that are deliv-ered based on convenience. Foods like pizza and

Chinese are commonly delivered to your front door in a fast way. Other products such as packages and newspapers are also delivered directly to your front door. In Savannah there is a product called “The Farm Box,” operated by Cha Bella, which focuses on direct delivery to homes in the Savannah area. This product will also be in direct competition with out service. The farming and agriculture industries will also be a large part of our business. By empowering local farmers to produce product that we can source for sales, a deep relationship will need to develop. Whether we employ our own farmers or source products through individual contacts our business will need to operate in the industry of farming.

rate sector from this process with be the cleaning of product for delivery as well as a kitchen that will produce prepared meals. After this process there will be another sector of delivery drivers tasked to keep the marketplace representatives well stocked as well as make home deliveries.

DENSE NETWORK OF CHURCHES IN URBAN SAVANNAH

Opportunities

INFRASTRUCTURE OFFER CUSTOMERPARTNER NETWORK

COST REVENUE STREAMS

Local Residents

Polk’s-Pooler

SUGA

Healthy Savannah

Churches

Cha-Bella-Earth 2 Table

Starfish Cafe

Local Savannah Government

Forsyth Farmers Market

SAAFON

Georgia Organics

Delivery to cultural hubs

Fresh local produce

Ready made dishes

Empowering local community

members

Accessible

Affordable

Convenient

Wholesome

Healthy

Delicious

Discourse at time of sale

Including:

1. Educating individuals about

the product

2. Speaking as an authentic

part of community

3. Listening to customer needs

and wants: Having an open

line of communication and

conversation that leads to

the customer shaping aspects

of the company including

recipe advice

Personas

1. Patrice and Marlile

Church representatives

2. Donavan

Church goer 1

3. Martha

Church goer 2

4. Natalie

Church goer 3

5. Rebecca

Savannah resident 1

6. Sandra

Savannah resident 2

7. Benjamin and Tina

Savannah residents 3

8. Patty

Savannah resident 4

(See personas for specific

information)Truck at churches

Delivery to communities

Personal home delivery (sec)

Warehouse rent

Vehicle Petrol

Licenscing fees

Kitchen equipment

Government Subsidies

Delivery to communities

Personal home delivery

Waste stream discounts

Salary (2) employees 45k per year

Raw materials

Storage devices - packaging

Kitchen 20k

Truck 10k

Storage Warehouse 1k per

month

Delivery network

KEY ACTIVITIES VALUE PROPOSITION RELATIONSHIP SEGMENTS

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

KEY RESOURCES

BUSINESS MODEL

BRAND BUILDING

DAILY TASKS

The interests of Down South Dinners revolves around the health benefits of eating fresh locally grown foods over fast foods that are high in fats, sugars and sodium. But rather then framing this business around the health benefits we understood that it was more important to create meaning around this service and food. By creating meaning we are able to add value to the product and encourage users to change their habits. We were interested in changing the conversation around this food from a healthy eating perspective to one of community, togetherness and family. This conversation was framed around being wholesome. The bonding and sense of belonging that can happen around a meal is pinnacle to encouraging more families to cook at home and eat healthier. We wanted to project the ideas of prepared food and the work that has gone into getting that food to your mouth. At fast food chains you do not get a sense of the food being handled to get it to you. This is mostly because it comes from large processing plants. The work is done by machines and many times this food comes from outside the country, not stimulating local economy. But by educating about the food, proclaiming that it was just picked days ago by a local farmer who took care of and nurtured adds value to it.

NAME REASONING

Down south dinners needs the community to survive on many levels. Not only does it look for them to support and advertise their service but it also needs them to grow. The business needs to build trust from urban Savannah. As outsiders entering into a tight-knit community it is hard to immediately gain acceptance. It’s possible to empower community members to build that acceptance. It’s understandable that at first Down South Dinners will be slow, but over time it can be accepted and admired by the community. Ideally, once the business is stable the tasks of running the business will be turned over to community members in need of employment. The prepared meals portion of the business, implemented at the second tier, will ask for recipes from urban Savan-nah members. These recipes empower the user to further propagate the use of Down South Dinners for themselves and network.

EMPLOYEE DESCRIPTION

BUSINESS FLOWCHART

First TierStart-up model

Second TierReady made model

Third TierHome Delivery model

Step 1Collection of product

Step 4Distribution cycle

Step 5Return to warehouse

Step 6Accessing

Step 1Sorting

Step 1Obtain orders

Step 2Prepare dishes

Step 3Distribution

Step 2Cooking

Step 3Distribution Cycle

Step 4Return to warehouse

Purchasing of productProduct

Smash and Grab

Preparation for distribution

local farms, wastes-treams, and partners

Loading of product

Driving to suppliers

From: What:

Unloading and sorting

Quality Control

Determined byend of process

sales assessment

Some recipes gathered from

community members

Brand advocates gained from 1st and

2nd tier business

Night before as well as weekly and daily

orders available

Time of day determined by neighborhood

Freeze or store dishes

Also determined by customer feedback

Delivery toWarehouse

Prepare location specific crates

Load Step Van

Churches, parks,other cutlural hubs

Unloading

Sortingfor next day

Economic breakdownWhat Sold? Where?

What have we learned from customers?

Keeping contacts. Getting new contacts

Ingredients gatheredfrom storage or

purchased

Orders by phoneor in person

Cook dishesordered

Sorted into specific recipes

Perpare dishes Package dishes

Deliver orders

Sort for specific places and load

frozen dishes

Package dishes

Store frozendishes in warehouse

freezers

Sort dishes intosaleable form

Where:

Step 2Storage of Product

Step 3Loading for distribution

Options List1. Apples2. Pears3. Nectarines4. Grapefruits5. Mandarins6. Limes7. Apricots8. Peaches9. Plums

10. Bananas11. Mangoes12. Strawberries13. Raspberries14. Blueberries15. Kiwifruit16. Passionfruit17. Watermelons18. Melons19. Tomatoes

20. Avacodos21. Lettuce22. Spinach23. Cabbage24. Cauliflower25. Sprouts26. Broccoli27. Pumpkin28. Cucumber29. Zucchini

30. Potatoes31. Sweet Potato32. Yam33. Celery34. Asparagus35. Onion36. Garlic37. Green peas38. Green beans39. Collards

The first step of Down South Dinners is to provide a neighborhood delivery service that deals in only raw materials. By doing this we are able to make the initial investment of getting this business started obtainable at roughly fifteen thousand dollars. This phase hopes to build the Down South Dinner brand and create relation-ships over time. The raw materials will allow us to sell the materials at a low investment price. These materials can be bought as individual units or in packages. At this phase we are hoping to get users interested in our products over the long term. Accessibility is key throughout this model.

With this evolution in the business offerings phase two of this model aims to add an element of prepared meals to the delivery service. Once users have gained experience with the brand, and there is a solid basis or profit-ability, it becomes more viable to take on the additional costs of operating a kitchen. This additional service comes at a large investment of roughly twenty thousand dollars. This new offering will allow Down South Dinners to add new users and markets to add profitability and add brand value.

In the third tier of the Down South Dinners evolution an additional growth can take place where food and products can be delivered directly to customers. At this point brand advocates will have developed. With the use of word of mouth advertising the company should have created a dense network of profitability and rela-tionships and begin to start change in urban Savannah. The personal home delivery will be based in offering high volume orders.

Map Experience diagram

tuesday, friday

wednesday, sunday

monday, thursday

ROUTES